Karting hot-shoe Riki Christodoulou (Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands) is all set to continue his head-to-head rivalry with fellow teenage superstars Freddie Martin-Dye (Shamley Green, Guildford) and Jon Lancaster (Pudsey, Leeds) this season after the trio were all confirmed as graduates to the 2004 Hill House Hammond/Renault ABkC Formula ICA Championship.
Reigning Hill House Hammond/Renault MSA British Junior Kart Champion Christodoulou enjoyed wheel-to-wheel battles with his two main rivals all season long in 2003. The three 15-year olds are expected to produce some tremendous racing in Formula ICA this season while also duelling with more experienced class competitors such as Chris Chubb, Sam Hill and 2003 Formula ICA Vice-Champion Danny Cruttenden.
Having looked closely at the country’s premier junior single-seater category - the Formula Renault UK Championship - as he places one eye on his future racing career, Riki opted to remain in karting for at least the coming season and the news he’ll be joined by his two major rivals is a huge boost for fans of Formula ICA and karting in general.
“After some thinking we felt it might be a little too early to move into single-seaters and I’m more than happy to stay karting for another year”, said Christodoulou, “There are still things for me to learn – Formula ICA karts are faster and I’ll race against much older drivers, making the racing more physical.”
“I am already feeling good with the quicker engine and we had a really positive test last week in the cold, lapping at the pace of the current British Champion (Jason Edgar), so the early signs are encouraging.”
Surrey ace Martin-Dye, who only missed out on the 2003 British Junior Kart title by two points, is keen to get the season underway with winter testing currently going very well. Freddie commented: “Formula ICA is obviously a step-up and so I think the competition will be good which is why I’d expect myself, Riki and Jon to probably be a bit more spread out than we were in juniors.
“I think we’ll have a good year but it all depends on how the first couple of rounds go. If I can get some good results early on, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t expect to be in the title hunt but I will be battling some experienced drivers which will make things quite tough.”
Jon Lancaster, who was third overall in the 2003 British Formula JICA Championship, is confident he can register some impressive results in Formula ICA, particularly on the back of the recent announcement he’s secured ‘factory’ backing from Italian karting giant Birel.
Renault’s link to the ELF/Hill House Hammond Super One Series is further boosted in the Lancaster camp with sponsorship also coming from Tim Sugden, owner of the Tim Sugden Motorsport team in the ELF Renault Hill House Hammond Clio Cup.
Speaking ahead of the coming season Lancaster said: “We’re really looking forward to the new season and it will be good to continue racing with Riki and Freddie. But to be honest I’m trying to focus on the championship as a whole as there will be a lot of experienced ICA karters out there.
“I’m confident I can do well but it will be hard work. We had some good results in juniors but engine problems did cost me quite badly so hopefully that won’t be an issue this year. I’m looking forward to the start of the championship now – it should be a great season.”
Registrations for the Hill House Hammond/Renault ABkC Formula ICA Championship currently stand at 24 drivers.
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